


Coffee Shop Soundtrack

by haaaveyoumetted



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Musicians, musician poe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-16 22:03:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5842636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haaaveyoumetted/pseuds/haaaveyoumetted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>prompt: A and B live in apartment rooms next to/above and the soundproof quality of the walls are like really bad. For some reason (upcoming performance, relieving stress, just felt like it etc.) A starts playing their musical instrument at ungodly hours. B listens to them (got woken up, studying late at night or whatever) and falls in love with their music and starts staying up nearly every night.</p>
<p>OR: both A and B play music and they hear each other playing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. These Walls

Finn was no stranger to sketchy living arrangements. Moving into a new apartment was always an adventure, and his new place was no exception. It was a studio apartment, small but comfortable. It fit into his budget the way he needed it to, and it was within walking distance of pretty much everything he would need for the time being. Rey and her cousin Ben had helped him move the few belongings he had, and putting everything away had only taken him a few days. He hadn't been around long, but he felt as though this was going to be his favorite location to date.

And then the music started. 

He hadn't realized how thin the walls really were. Finn could very clearly hear a guitar being played from the room above his, and surprisingly, it didn't bother him. It wasn't a constant sound. Whoever it was only played every few days, from what he could tell. He found himself wishing he could hear it more often. 

As the weeks went by, he found himself humming along to the music that floated through the walls, accepting it as a part of his life- almost like a soundtrack. The thought made him smile. 

\---

Poe had been around for a few years. He saw no point in moving when he was comfortable where he was, and had no idea what his next step was going to be. Besides, he managed to find a place where the tenants around him didn't file complaints about his guitar playing. He always got a bit nervous when new ones moved in, never knowing what to expect. 

Especially when he had a gig coming up and tended to practice noticeably more often. Poe was aware that a new tenant had moved in beneath him, and while he hadn't heard anything from the office, he hadn't seen who had moved in- couldn't gauge how cautious he needed to be. 

He found himself throwing caution to the wind, practicing as often as he did when he really needed to buckle down, and let the music take over. He didn't realize that he had played through the day entirely until BB curled up next to him, seeking attention. 

\---

Even when Finn wasn't at home, he found himself humming the music he heard when he was. He didn't recognize any of the tunes, and after a bit research, he came conclusion that they must be original compositions. One day, he was hoping to put words to them, but he had never heard the musician singing or even humming along. He tried almost embarrassingly hard not to be disappointed. 

Rey asked him about it often, and gave him crap for not trying to figure out who it was or introducing himself to his upstairs neighbor. He playfully shoved her every time. 

One night, the pattern changed. Finn usually never heard music being from above himself past 8pm, until the night he had stayed up to get late reading in. He heard the guitar being strummed softly and a few seconds later, _a voice joined in_.

Finn almost dropped his book in surprise. With his attention officially shot, he set the book down on the table in front of him and put all of his focus into listening to the words that fit with the melodies he had been humming along to for weeks. It was a man's voice- different in a way he didn't yet have a description for; not anything that would do it justice, anyway. It had a lightness to it that was calming, but it was also a quality that left it unable to be ignored, commanding all of the available attention - something he could find himself getting addicted to hearing very quickly. He stayed up until the playing stopped for the night, just as the clock on the wall was hitting 3:30AM. 

That became his new routine. No matter what time Finn had to be up the next day, he would be up until the music coming from upstairs stopped for the night. Within a week, he was confident that he could sing the words to the songs without any help from the voice above him- not that he ever wanted to. He could never do them justice in that way. It didn't stop him from singing along. 

He wonders if he'll ever get to hear it from the other side of the wall, face to face, and then dismisses the thought as quickly as it appeared. 

\---

Poe finds himself thanking his lucky stars that the tenant beneath him is hard to annoy. He doesn't know who the person is, has never seen them, or heard anything from below, and he's never gotten a complaint, despite constantly playing until at least 3AM most days. 

And then one night he hears it. It's faint, but it's there. 

A man's voice is singing along to the music he's playing; humming when there aren't any words, and keeping pace with the lyrics when there are. His smile at the realization could the rival the sun. 

He keeps playing, hoping the to hear the voice from downstairs more often.

It doesn't take long for his wish to come true, and each time it happens, the voice get a little louder, a bit more confident- less cautious, as if he isn't worried about being heard anymore. Poe finds himself harmonizing with him naturally, almost liking the new versions better. 

He often finds himself tempted to walk down to the floor below his and introduce himself; to find out who the voice is attached to. He always talks himself out of it, afraid of shattering whatever it is that they have; this unofficial agreement between them. 

So he leaves it as it is, letting his imagination wander, wondering what it would be like to be break down the wall between them and see him face-to-face. He thinks about it more often than he probably should.


	2. The flavor of your lips is enough to keep me here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you guys asked for more, so here's another chapter :3

Finn wasn't one to drink a lot of coffee, only resorting to it as an emergency energy source when absolutely necessary. Rey and her cousin Ben, however, drank several cups of coffee a day, and were very particular where they got it from. He gave the two of them crap for it constantly. However, that didn't stop him from accompanying them whenever they wanted to check out a new place. 

This week, they had decided to try out a place just around the corner from where Finn lived. From the outside, it looked like a bit of a hole in the wall; cramped and not particularly inviting. Stepping through the door, he quickly realized it was bigger on the inside; a lot bigger. The coffee bar took up nearly the entire wall on the left hand side. The front half of the cafe contained several bookshelves, end tables and chairs that were definitely suitable for napping. The back half of the room was filled with round, wooden tables, varying amounts of chairs around each of them. Along the back wall was a small stage, a few stools and microphone stands sitting in the corner. 

"Ooh, I wonder if there's a show on tonight!", Rey observed, seemingly noticing the stage at nearly the same time as Finn. 

"God I hope not", Ben said, as if the very thought of watching someone play music in a coffee shop disgusted him to his core. Knowing him, it probably did. 

"Wow, try to contain your excitement there, man", Finn replied, his tone light and teasing. Ben just shot him a warning glare that never actually phased anyone that knew him. 

Rey rolled her eyes, nudging the taller man with her elbow. "Hush, you. If there's someone on, we're definitely staying."

Finn smiled, nodding his head in agreement. "I've got nothing else to do tonight."

Ben just stared at the wall, almost as if he glared hard enough, he would burn a hole straight through it that he could crawl into. 

They all laid claim to a table near the front of the stage, ordering a few different blends of coffee to try before taking their seats. 

\---

In the past few years, Poe had started playing bigger venues; actually started making some decent money here and there. Jessika's coffee shop, however, was always an exception. She had been one of his best friends when he was in school, and how that she owned her own place, he was more than happy to be the entertainment for the night whenever she asked. He always seemed to draw a decent sized crowd on those nights, and he was happy he could help bring business in. 

He hadn't played there in a while, and he found himself really excited for the night ahead of him. Scratching BB's head one last time, he shrugged on his favorite worn down leather jacket, slipped his guitar into it's case, and placed a cigarette between his lips, lighting it with one hand and closing the door behind him with his foot. The shop was just around the corner, a five minute walk at the most. 

Jessika smiled at him from behind the bar as he walked in the door, and he lifted his free hand to wave at her, returning the smile. 

"Howdy boss", she greeted with a smirk as he approaches. 

"You do realize that I've never actually been your boss, right?" he replied with a smirk mirroring hers, lifting an eyebrow in question. 

"Not _yet_ ", she replied, as if she knew something he certainly didn't. 

Poe rolled his eyes, carefully setting his guitar case down and leaning it against the bar. "What does my set look like tonight?"

"Whatever you want it to look like. You know I trust you- against my better judgement, obviously."

A startled laugh escaped from around the guitar pick between his teeth. Jessika still managed to catch him by surprise. "So basically, I can do whatever I want, as long as I play your favorite somewhere in there?"

He took the bright smile she flashed him as a resounding 'yes'. 

\---

About twenty minutes after they had arrived at the small cafe, a man carrying a guitar case walked over to the stage in front of them and began rearranging the microphone stands and various other pieces of equipment cluttering the space. 

Finn knew he was in serious trouble the second that the man turned to face their direction. He had never felt like he had a particular type of guy that he was attracted to- but if he had, this [guy](http://www.laineygossip.com/Content/images/articles/oscar%20isaac%2006feb12%2001.jpg) would definitely be it. He had a full head of dark, hair that wasn't _quite_ curly. There were small undertones of grey throughout that didn't quite fit with how young the man looked. The bottom half of his face was covered by dark facial hair that Finn couldn't help but want to touch. He knew that he was staring, but Finn couldn't bring himself to look away. 

It wasn't until Rey started snapping her fingers in front of his face that he truly realized how fucked he was. "Finn? Earth to Finn?"

He blinked rapidly, as if coming out of a trance, before turning to look at her. He didn't like the knowing, shit-eating grin that she had on her face. "See something you like?"

"Don't say a word."

Rey started laughing, and opened her mouth to reply, when she was interrupted by the man speaking into the microphone to catch the attention of the room. "This is a song called 'The Measure of Things', hope you like it."

And then he started playing. 

Finn was completely mesmerized by how effortlessly he played, his fingers gliding over the strings with an ease he hadn't known was possible. 

And then he started _singing_ , and Finn nearly fell out of his chair, his mouth dropping open in disbelief. "That's him."

"What?", Rey asked, rightly confused. 

"That- that's _him_. That's the voice that I've been hearing from the apartment above mine." Finn explained, clearly very flustered. 

The way that Rey's eyes widened would have been hilarious in any other situation. " _That's_ him?!" she whispered.

All Finn could do was nod his head in response. 

"You have to talk to him! After he finishes his set", Rey said, slapping him on the arm. 

"Are you insane?! Talk to _him_?"

"Absolutely! You've been wanting to meet this guy for ages now. You can't just let him walk away now", she replied. 

"You do _see_ him right?! I barely _look_ at him without making a fool out of myself", Finn argued. 

"You're going to hate yourself if you don't.", she pointed out. "We both know I'm right about that." 

He knew she was right. She usually was.

"Damn it." He sighed.

All it took were those two words for her to know he couldn't argue. 

\---

Poe always lost track of time when he was on stage. For this reason, he always liked to have a set list with him. Even if he didn't follow it exactly, it gave him a frame of reference. 

"I want to thank you all for sticking around for my set tonight, I've got one more for you. This one is called '[Never Had](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uljQuVXuMM)', and it's a house favorite." He said in introduction, smiling at where he knew Jessika was standing. 

The crowd that night had made him feel refreshed. There was an energy in the room that was infectious, and he loved being able to end on a high note.   
As he started singing, he locked eyes with a man that was _singing his words back to him_. It threw Poe off for a few seconds, not used to seeing anyone other than Jessika and a few of his school friends knowing bits and pieces- but this guy- he knew _all of it_. 

No matter where he looked as he was performing, his gaze always found it's way back to him. _Who was he?_

**Author's Note:**

> come be stormpilot trash with me on [tumblr](http://poedamerontho.tumblr.com).


End file.
